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Beer Can Chicken

This grilling project was a bit fraught with disaster. But that makes it more fun, right? Beer can chicken is great to make when you can chill on the patio, enjoy a cold drink, and keep an eye on the chicken.

Things to avoid while grilling a beer can chicken:

forgetting to thaw the chicken until right before dinner time

setting the chicken on fire

allowing the chicken to tip over

That’s all. This is the voice of experience here, folks. I would like to say that I don’t know a thing about the three items above. But I do. I know first hand. They are to be avoided at all costs.

Here’s what you need for beer can chicken success:

1 can of beer (it can be cheap beer)

1 small onion

1 whole chicken

1 stick of butter

seasonings, to taste

Step by step:

1. Defrost the chicken. Rinse, and pat dry.

2. Cut your onion into a flower by cutting top to bottom, but leaving the bottom intact. Stuff the onion down the neck of the chicken. You may have to remove the outer layer of the onion to make this possible.

Cut like so:

End goal:

3. Drink half of the can of beer. If you can’t stomach it, simply pour out half of the can. Put three tablespoons of butter directly into the can, and melt the remainder of the stick in a microwave safe dish.

4. Turn up the grill to medium low heat. Layer 4 sheets of tin foil on the grate, and curl up the edges of the top layer to prevent grease from spilling (fire prevention).

5. Put the beer can up the back of the chicken. Balance the chicken in the center of the grill. Baste with melted butter, and season as desired.

5. The bird will need to cook for a good 60-80 minutes, depending on its weight. In this amount of time, baste the chicken another 2-3 times with the remaining butter.